His Little Sister
by Neonculr
Summary: Josephine isn't the best off person in the world, but she isn't the worst off either. She knows that, and she wont complain. When tensions run high and emotions get the best of her, will her trust and respect for her brother falter? Will her decisions make or break her? Can the Host Club do anything, or will their friendship just make everything MORE complicated? And who is Kurai?
1. Prologue

My name is Josephine Suoh, younger sister of Tamaki Suoh. I am also the daughter of Yuzuru Suoh and Anne-Sophie de Grantaine. I have been kept secret from my brother and father. The only two people that know of my existence are my mother and Shizue, my grandmother.

I have been confined to the secondary Suoh mansion, unable to see my father or anyone else. I've been here for thirteen years, and have grown quite used to only having myself and the servants.

"Mistress, your grandmother has paid a surprise visit." A butler said, appearing beside me.

"Oh? I wonder what happened." I said, getting up and following him.

He brought me to a room with two couches, and I saw Shizue sitting on one. What surprised me was my father sitting next to her.

I bowed to the two, and sat on the couch opposite of them.

"I have come to tell you some news." She said, unemotionally looking at me.

"Thank you for making the trip." I said calmly, straight-laced and pokerfaced.

"Your brother will be moving to this mansion within the next week. And as you can tell, your father knows about your existence. I ask that you don't get any ideas about doing anything." She said sharply.

"I wouldn't dream of it, ma'am." I replied.

"Mother, I am still a bit confused." My father spoke up.

"About what?" She snapped.

"How is it that I have two children with Anne?"

"You see, this child was conceived shortly before you left."

"I see. It's nice to meet you, um..."

"Josephine." I replied, bowing to him once more. "I'm happy to make your acquaintance."

"Good. We'll be leaving now." Shizue remarked, standing up.

"Goodbye, ma'am." I replied, bowing again.

A few minutes later I heard the car pull out of the driveway and sighed.

"Isn't this great, Mistress? You get to meet your brother!" one of the maids said.

"It's amazing!" I replied, smiling as I reverted back to my normal self. "I can't wait to see him!"

A few days passed and I helped everyone prepare for the arrival of my brother. I would bake and clean, but eventually I would get kicked out and climb trees outside.

Finally, a black car pulled in through the gates. I jumped down from the tree I was in and ran inside, brushing myself off and standing a few feet from the door. I bounced excitedly as I heard the noise from outside, and held my breath when the doorknob turned. The door swung open, and everyone's heads went down.

"Welcome, master Tamaki." All the servants said.

I looked up and said, "Welcome, Tamaki-san."

The bag fell from his hand as he stared at me. "Josephine-san?" He said.

"Nice to meet you." I said, straight-lacing myself.

He ran and hugged me, spinning me around and smiling. It caught me extremely off guard, and when he let me go I swayed a little.

"I'm so glad to see you Imoto! I've been waiting forever to meet you!" He exclaimed, a brilliant smile erupting on his face.

"You... have...?" I replied, trying to focus on all three of his heads.

"Mom told me about you when I was little, and I've always wanted to meet you!" He said, happy tears filling his eyes.

I blinked a couple of times and my sight returned to normal, showing me the smiling face of my brother.

A smile snaked on to my face and I hugged him. "Me too, Onii-chan..." I said quietly.

One year later...

It was a beautiful day and students were lounging around in the courtyard, having fun or just hanging out.

"Onii-chan, are you sure about this?" I asked, grabbing his sleeve.

"Of course. Don't worry, Imoto. I'll definitely get it right this time!" He said, patting my head.

I leaned against a pillar, as I usually did when he talked to the twins, as he headed to the fountain.

"Huh?" Tamaki said, shocked.

I listened in on the conversation, interested.

"Like we said, we're done. Game over." They said.

"What are you talking about? How self serving!" Tamaki exclaimed.

"That's right. We are self serving."

"Or, should we say..."

"We heard you're the illegitimate son of the superintendent, huh?" they said together.

My eyes widened and I whispered, "Onii-chan!"

"Forgive us, but we did a little looking in to you. My, you've got quite a sad little life story, don't you? You wouldn't want us to spread this around the school, right?" Kaoru said.

"What's more, your actual mother is still missing, even now." Hikaru said.

I stood frozen in shock as I listened to them. I noticed Tamaki's hand had balled in to a tight fist, so I hurriedly shook my head and headed over to him.

"Ultimately, you're just lonesome, being by yourself, aren't you?"

"So could you not arbitrarily try to make us your friends?"

"The two of us are still better off than the one of you."

I stopped in my tracks. Tears trembled in my eyes, and I wondered how someone could say something so cruel.

Kaoru stood up and said, "Let's go, Hikaru-kun."

"O-okay." Hikaru replied, standing up and following Kaoru.

"Onii-chan..." I said, quietly putting my hand on his shoulder.

He turned his gaze from the ground towards the twins and stared at them for a second. I hugged him from behind in an attempt to calm him down, but he didn't say anything and kept staring.

Later...

"Our first meeting will be after the opening ceremony, after school. We're having it in the high school's music room #3." Tamaki said, walking away from the twins.

"That was nice, Onii-chan." I said, walking by his side after he passed the pillar I was standing behind.

"All I can hope is that they can find what they're looking for." He said, putting his hand on the top of my head.

"...Hey, next year will I be able to join the Host Club too?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Silly Imoto, you're a girl. Girls can't join the Host Club." He said, laughing.

I puffed my cheeks out and pouted. We sat on the windowsill in his classroom, and the clock struck three.

Three days later...

"Um, Onii-chan..." I said quietly.

"Oh, Imoto, I didn't hear you come in. What is it?" He said, turning towards me. His eyes widened and he ran over, asking, "Why are you crying!?"

"O-Onii-chan, I'm leaving soon." I said, tears leaking down my face.

"What!? Where are you going!? Why!?"

"I'm being shipped to America for a year. Grandma told me I had to go."

"But why!?"

"She thinks we're going to run away! Now she's separating us and I'm scared once I go I'll never come back!" I yelled.

"Imoto, listen to me." He said firmly. I looked up in to his eyes and he said, "I'll make sure you come back. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you come back."

"Okay." I said, nodding my head.

One week later, I was on a plane towards America, flying away from my brother.

I spent the promised year in America, earning top grades and being number one in every sport I took part of. That was the condition to go back. And now, here I am, standing in front of Ouran Academy.

"Onii-chan, I'm back." I said, smiling.


	2. Chapter 1

I headed to the music room, getting lost a couple of times but finding my way back.

Finally, I saw it. Music room #3.

I shakily opened the doors and saw six boys. And in the middle of them, was Tamaki.

I smiled at him, and happy tears filled my eyes.

"I'm back, Onii-chan." I said.

"Josephine-chan?" He said, confused.

"Don't tell me you don't recognize me Onii-chan. I've only been gone for a year. Did you forget about me?" I asked, walking towards him.

He looked puzzled for a second and took my hat off, sending my long blonde locks tumbling down my back.

I snatched the hat back and said, "Idiot! I have my hat and a boy's uniform for a reason. You said because I'm a girl I can't join the Host Club, so I convinced everyone I was a boy." I said, twirling my hair back in to a bun and placing the hat over it.

Tamaki had tears in his eyes and hugged me, yelling, "Oh Imoto! I missed you so much! You little genius you, pretending you're a boy so you can join the Host Club!" Suddenly he froze and started yelling. "What do you think you're doing dressing like a boy so you can be in the Host Club!? I didn't expect this kind of behavior from you missy! You were raised better!"

"Uhh, excuse us boss but who is this?" Two twins said together.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said, pushing Tamaki away. "I'm Josephine Suoh, Tamaki-kun's younger sister. Please, call me Jo." I said, smiling.

"I didn't know Josephine-chan had enrolled here." Kyoya said.

"Kyoya-kun! It's good to see you." I said, smiling and hugging him.

"It's good to see you too. It seems you really want to join the Host Club to go through all this." He said.

"Ever since Onii-chan told me about it, I've wanted to be a part of it. I even have presents for everyone. I'll leave them here." I said, smiling as I placed the little bag on the table. I looked at Tamaki, and my smile quickly faded as I turned sad. "But..."

"What is it Josephine-chan!? What is it!?" Tamaki exclaimed, jumping up and grabbing my shoulders.

"Onii-chan, you're my big brother. I care a lot about what you think. So... If you don't want me to be in the same club as you... I guess I can find something else to do." I looked up from the ground and flashed him a smile. "I'm going to go home then. See you, Onii-chan." I turned away from him, wiped the tears from my eyes, and headed for the door. I unbuttoned my present on my shirt and dropped it a few feet from the door.

No POV:

"What are they?" Hikaru asked, picking up the bag. He opened it, and his eyes widened a little.

"Boss, I think you should see this..." Kaoru said, also peeking in the bag.

Tamaki bent down and picked up what his little sister dropped, and his heart broke in half when he saw it. It was a button that said, "Ouran High School Host Club." It had taken the original Ouran Academy crest and placed a banner over it, saying the name of the club. They were hand painted and make of metal, but each one was no less than perfect. They even had different colored roses to symbolize the person's type.

"The 'Big Brotherly Type'? I don't think I could see Imoto doing that, nonetheless being a host." Tamaki said, looking sadly at her button.

"Tamaki-kun, if you want to chase her she's almost at the front gates." Kyoya said.

Tamaki stood for a second, looking at the button. He saw his sister's sad figure trudging towards the gates and was instantly out the door, sprinting to the front gates as fast as he could.

"...So do we have a new member now?" Honey asked.

"Yeah." Mori replied.

The Host Club peeked out the windows and watched the exchange between the two.

Josephine POV:

I was dragging my feet all the way to the front gates, my shoulders slumped.

"Josephine-chan!" Tamaki yelled.

"Onii-chan?" I said, turning around.

Tamaki stopped in front of me and panted, trying to catch his breath.

"Are you alright...?" I asked.

"Josephine-chan! I...I want you to be in the Host Club!" He said. He clumsily pinned he button back on to my uniform and said, "You belong there. With me, Kyoya-kun, and everyone else."

"Onii-chan!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around his neck.

Fifteen minutes later...

I was bouncing off the walls and exploring everything, overly excited and really happy. I was running through rooms and jumping over couches, burning energy like there was no tomorrow.

Just then the door opened, and everyone suddenly grouped together and said, "Welcome."

I looked at who was in front of the door, and a huge smile spread on my face.

"Haru-chan!" I yelled, hugging her.

"Oh, Jo-chan. What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I'm a host! See? I've got my own badge and everything!"

"Host...?" Haruhi said, baffled.

"I know what you're thinking Haruhi-chan. 'These damn rich people! Who has a host club at school!?' Silly Haruhi-chan! Its fun and I get to spend time with my big brother!"

"You know this boy?" Tamaki said, on edge.

"Duh! We were friends when we were little! We went to the same summer camp two years ago! And Haruhi-chan's the honor student!" I threw my arm around her and said, "I'm so proud of you Haruhi!"

"Jo-chan, you need to calm down..." Haruhi said.

"Calm down!? But I just got back to Japan and I'm so excited! I need to burn my energy before I calm down!" With that I started exploring, running around and doing more crazy stuff.

The other members started talking to Haruhi, and Onii-chan kept following her around and saying mumbo jumbo about the Host Club. He also accused her of being gay and hit on her!

Suddenly Haruhi bumped in to a pedestal, and I jumped to try and save the vase. I fell flat, and ended up having the vase crush my hand.

Haruhi stared and shock and the twins appeared behind her, talking about how expensive the vase was.

"Ow." I said, twisting my face in confusion. I pricked a few shards of it out of my hand and it started to bleed. Before Onii-chan could freak out I found some bandages and wrapped up my hand and fingers.

"You are now the Host Club's dog!" Tamaki said, pointing at Haruhi.

"Yaaay! Now Haruhi-chan's in the Host Club with me! Haha!" I said, hugging her.

Haruhi sighed and fell over, taking me with her.

Tamaki freaked out and I laughed, despite the slight pain in my hand.

The club was talking to her about going out and getting coffee when I started to get tired. Looks like I burnt too much energy. I sat down on one of the couches, flopped on to my side, and fell asleep.

I was awakened by something poking my cheek, and sleepily opened my eyes.

"Imoto, are you awake?" Tamaki asked.

I sat up and stretched, cracking my back a couple of times. "Yeah. Is the Host Club opening soon?" I asked.

"Yeah. You should get ready."

"Alright." I said. I straightened out my uniform and re-did my ponytail, placing my long hair in a bun and slipping my hat over it.

A few minutes later the Host Club opened, and I began my first day as a host.

"So Jo, how did you hurt your hand?" One of my customers asked.

"Oh, this? Funny story about that, actually." I said, laughing and rubbing the back of my neck.

"Won't you tell us?" Another girl asked me.

"You see, before I came back to Japan I went with one of my friends to the mall and lost sight of her. After looking for about five minutes, I saw her being dragged off by some strange guy. So, I confronted him and he pulled out a knife. Though I may have gotten hurt, I'm glad my friend was okay." I said, smiling. I was actually telling the truth, besides the hard part. My best friend wanted to go shopping with me to say goodbye, and she almost got abducted. I'm glad she's alright.

"What did she look like?" The third girl asked.

I put my hand on her head and said, "She looked like you." with a big smile on my face.

They all squealed, and I smiled. This was all easier than I expected it to be.

Just then Haruhi walked in, and I waved at her. She nodded her head in reply, because her hands were full.

"Excuse me, ladies." I said. I got up and took one of the bags for her, smiling while I did so.

All the girls over where I was stared in anticipation, hoping to see my every move.

"Thanks for helping me Jo-kun." Haruhi said.

"No problem. Anything to help you out." I said, smiling and ruffling her hair.

"Haruhi-kun, come over here." Tamaki called. "You too, Otōto."

"Yeah, Tamaki-senpai?" Haruhi said.

"Yeah, Onii-chan?" I said.

"I'd like you to meet Princess Kitomi, my regular customer."

Haruhi smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Tamaki freaked out and twirled around, saying how she was cute or something.

I smiled at her and said, "It great to meet my brother's Princess. If he ever does anything to make you unhappy, please, come to me." I tousled her hair and said, "I might just steal you away."

Princess Kitomi blushed and stuttered, saying how I was kind and sweet.

Tamaki snapped his head towards me and Mori was holding Haruhi in the air. I shot a victorious side glance at Tamaki, and lightning struck in the background.

"She's not the 'Big Brotherly Type!" The twins exclaimed.

"She's the 'Sneaky Type'!" Tamaki exclaimed.

"What?" Haruhi said, annoyed.

Later that day...

I was in the changing room helping Haruhi tie her tie straight when I spoke up.

"You know they think you're a boy, right?" I said.

"I kinda figured. What about you?" She asked, fixing her hair.

"They know I'm a girl, but I had already convinced everyone else I was a boy so they let me join! Plus I have my brother's influence." I said, winking.

"Why did you want to join the club?" She asked.

"You see, Tamaki-kun gets in to a lot of trouble by himself. And he just needs someone there beside him. So, I plan to fill that spot until he falls in love! Then he'll have her to depend on instead of me." I said, smiling.

"That's really noble of you." Haruhi said.

"Not really. All I do is smack him in the back of the head sometimes."

Haruhi and I laughed.

I stepped out of the changing room and said, "I present to you, the new Haruhi Fujioka-kun!" I pulled the curtain back, and Tamaki freaked out again.

I was lounging around the Host Club because I had no requests, and I ended up going over to Tamaki. At first I was just messing with him, and I ended up braiding his hair.

"What are you doing?" He asked, laughing.

"I'm messing with your hair. I used to do it all the time, remember?"

"Yeah, I do. I could never figure out how to do hair even when you tried to teach me." He said, laughing.

"Haruhi-kun! Your turn!" I said happily as I left Tamaki alone to figure out how to undo the braids.

I had finally gotten Haruhi to agree to let me braid her hair, and only did one on the side. It looked really feminine, and it made the girls (and Tamaki) go crazy.

"Can you teach me how to braid?" Honey asked, tugging on my sleeve.

"Sure!" I said, grabbing one of the twins.

I taught Honey step by step how to do it, but because his fingers were so tiny it ended up looking sloppy.

Kaoru ended up crying of laughter at how funny Hikaru's hair ended up, so I slapped him in the back of the head and re-did Hikaru's.

"Excuse me ladies, but longer hair is easier to braid. Would two of you volunteer so I could teach Honey-kun?"

More than enough girls volunteered, so I spent some time braiding all of their hair and teaching Honey. I even did a little braid on his hair.

"Your turn Kyoya-kun!" I said, having finished the last girl. The Host Club had just closed, so no one else besides the members was in the room.

"I don't think so." He said, pushing up his glasses.

"Fine! I'll just do someone else's hair!" I said, taking my hat off. I took my hair out of a bun and left it in a high ponytail. Even then it reached the hem of my pants.

"Wow Josephine-chan! I didn't know your hair was so long!" Honey said, playing with it.

"You can try to braid it if you want. I don't mind."

"Really!?" Honey exclaimed. He happily braided my hair, while I took on the tedious task of undoing Tamaki's mess.

"Ouch! You're hurting me!" He exclaimed.

"Well maybe if you didn't mess up your hair so much it wouldn't hurt!" I said, slapping him in the back of the head.

I finally got his hair undone and started to brush it, gently undoing the tangles and knots.

When he was done I kicked him out of the way and beckoned for Kyoya to come over.

"You're not braiding my hair." He said bluntly, pushing up his glasses.

"Why not?" I pouted.

"Because, I don't want to be humiliated." He said.

"I swear by the end of today I will have your hair braided!" I exclaimed.

"I'm done!" Honey said proudly.

To say the least-it was sloppy and misbraided. Some parts stuck out more than others and in other places he messed up.

"Thank you Honey-kun! It looks lovely. You're getting so much better! You're going to be a master braider!" I said, smiling. "Watch this! I can make it look like a flower!" I twirled the mangled braid around and secured it with a hair tie, and then prodded a few places to make them look like petals. "There! See, it's a flower!"

"Wow! That's so cool!" Honey said in amazement.

It looked like a rats nest had made itself home on the back of my head, and you had to really try to see a flower.

Hikaru and Kaoru were dying of silent laughter, writhing on the floor and clutching their stomachs.

"You did a really good job, Honey-senpai. I'm proud of you." Haruhi said, standing next to me.

I linked my arm with hers and said, "Hey Haruhi-chan, you should grow your hair out again so he can practice on you too!"

Tamaki noticed my arm linked with Haruhi's and fumed.


	3. Chapter 2

I kept my hair in the 'flower' and didn't dare to take it out. Honey was so happy about it, and I was happy too.

Some time passed and I unbraided everybody's hair. I even brushed it, and it was really fun.

When I finally finished with that, I looked over at Kyoya. He had fallen asleep in front of his laptop.

Without anyone noticing, I took a picture and pulled up a chair. I discretely started braiding his hair, but in a way that looked good on him and not ridiculous like the others. I knew he'd be mad when he woke up, but I'd deal with that when it happened.

I took another picture with me and his braided hair, and made the sleeping one my wallpaper.

It was finally five o'clock and everyone started getting ready to go.

"Kyoya-kun..." I said gently, tapping him. "Kyoya-kun." I said a little louder, shaking his shoulder. He mumbled a little, but still didn't wake up. "Kyoya-kun, you spilled water on your laptop."

He jerked up and almost smacked me in the chin, but I dodged in time. I started laughing uncontrollably, to the point that I was crying.

"Very funny." He said, still trying to be cool. He looked at his laptop screen, and saw his reflection. "Josephine-chan." He said calmly.

"Yes?" I said innocently, batting my eyelashes at him.

"What did I say about braiding my hair?" He said threateningly.

"I dunno. Something about braiding." I said, feigning ignorance.

"Didn't I tell you I didn't want my hair braided?" He said, glaring at me.

"Didn't I say I would have your hair braided by the end of the day?" I said, still smiling. "You know Kyoya-kun; it's hard to be intimidating when you have a cute little braid in your hair.

At this point Hikaru, Kaoru, Haruhi, and Honey were dying of laughter. Tamaki was really scared, and Mori was just... Mori.

Kyoya had fire in his eyes and I just continued to smile, which made him even angrier.

"Aww, don't be mad Kyoya-kun. Here, let me take it out for you." Before he could protest I sat down and started taking the braid out. "See? Nothing to get so mad about."

He was still glaring at me, so I sighed. "Fine. But you asked for this." I said. I quickly pecked him on the cheek, and ran out of the Host Club.

No POV:

Everyone stood frozen for a second, and Jo poked her head back in to the room. "Please don't be mad at me Kyoya-kun. You're scary when you're mad." With that the door closed and she disappeared.

Tamaki fell to the floor and Kyoya touched his cheek is shock. He smirked and said, "This is an interesting development."

"Interesting development!? What development is there to be had!? And even if there was one why would you call it interesting!? What-" Tamaki began screaming.

"Onii-chan, are we going? I'm about to leave without you." Jo said.

Everyone looked at her lounging on one of the couches, pulling a brush through her ponytail.

"But... But you..."

"While you all were listening to Kyoya-kun talk I came back in to get my brush. I noticed Onii-chan was freaking out so I waited for him to finish, but I ran out of things to do. Either way, are you still mad at me Kyoya-kun?" She asked.

"Though I may be a little irritated, I'm over it now." He said, pushing up his glasses again.

"Great! Haruhi-chan, I'm walking home with you. Let's go!" Jo said, grabbing Haruhi's arm and walking.

"W-wait!" Haruhi exclaimed.

I ended up staying for too long at her house, because when I grabbed my phone I had a ton of calls and texts from Tamaki.

"Haruhi-chan, can I spend the night?" I asked, looking away from my phone.

"Sure. You have some stuff here from before you left..." Haruhi replied.

'Spending the night at Haruhi's. See you at school. -Jo'

Sent.

'Incoming call: Tamaki'

"Hello?"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOURE DOING SPENDING THE NIGHT AT A BOY'S HOUSE!? I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO BE WITHIN TEN FEET OF HIM FROM THIS POINT ON! NOW COME HOME BEFORE I-"

"Bye Onii-chan! I'll see you at school in the morning." I said. Before he could yell at me again, I hung up and turned my phone off.

Haruhi and I spent the night talking, forgetting about sleep and school the next day.

"Hey Haruhi, you went to a public school before Ouran, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

I was quiet for a second. "...Did you have friends?"

"Yeah, I had a couple. I wasn't very popular, though. Why are you asking?"

I stared up at the ceiling and asked quietly, "What was it like?"

Haruhi's gaze changed from me to the ceiling as she spoke. "It was fun. I had Arai-kun and a few others. We would always eat lunch together and have fun."

"Did you get bullied?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't so bad."

"...Haruhi-chan, can I tell you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"I was homeschooled until seventh grade. Even then, I wasn't allowed to make friends. I only had Onii-chan. I... I don't know what it's like to have friends."

"Why weren't you allowed to make friends?" Haruhi asked, sitting up.

"...My father went on a business trip to France and fell in love with a woman. He was currently in a politically convenient marriage, so he wanted to divorce the woman and marry my mother. My grandmother wouldn't allow it. At this point Onii-chan had already been born, and Father didn't know I had been conceived. Mother is fragile, so Onii-chan grew up in France until he was 14. Around then, Mother's business failed and she went in to debt. Grandmother made a deal with her, letting Onii-chan come to Japan and giving her enough money to live. But, Onii-chan can never see her again. After Onii-chan came to Japan, Mother moved away and went in to hiding. Nobody knows where she is, and Onii-chan hasn't seen her since."

"So... where were you during all of this?" Haruhi asked.

"...Grandmother found out about me before my father did. Grandmother was afraid that if father heard he had another child with my mother, he would want to abandon the family business and be with her. So, I was confined to the secondary Suoh mansion and hidden from everybody. Once Onii-chan was chosen as heir, he was moved to the secondary mansion and Grandmother told Father about me. I've never met my mother, I've only seen my father once, and I was banned from having friends. So now that I'm in the Host Club, I don't know how to act. I don't know if I should be straight-laced or myself. Onii-chan accepts me for who I am, Kyoya-kun has seen both sides of me, and now you've seen a side they haven't. I don't know if I can call you my friends or not. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Well, with what you did to Kyoya-senpai you could've tricked me." She said, laughing.

"That was just to get him to stop being mad at me. Besides, I actually know him. I'm always around Onii-chan, so I know just about everything he does."

"You shouldn't worry. From what I gather, everyone in that club is friends with each other. Just be yourself." Haruhi said, smiling at me.

"You're right. Thanks."

There was a period of silence, and we both drifted off to sleep.

The next day I carefully evaded Tamaki, not wanting to get yelled at. Haruhi and I became two peas of a pod, sticking together like the twins.

Finally school ended and we headed to the host club with the twins. As soon as the doors opened, I was hit with an overwhelming aura of anger and worry.

"JOSEPHINE!" Tamaki screamed as soon as he saw me. I was suddenly pulled by my collar and face to face with a furious Tamaki. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING SPENDING THE NIGHT AT ABOY'S HOUSE!? I WAS WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU! WHERE WERE YOU ALL DAY!? I WAS-"

I pushed Tamaki off of me and glared at him. "Let go of me." I snapped.

He looked at me with a shocked face, but fury quickly took over and he glared at me.

"Don't you glare at me. I didn't do anything wrong." I snarled.

"You spent the night at a boy's house!" He snarled back.

"Why is that such a big deal!? We didn't do anything!"

"It doesn't matter! Do you realize what could have happened!?"

"Onii-chan! You know me! I wouldn't do something like that!"

"I know that, but I don't know about him!" Tamaki yelled, pointing at Haruhi.

"Don't you _dare_ accuse Haruhi-chan of something like that!" I screamed, getting in his face. "Haru-chan would never do _anything_ to hurt _anybody_! Especially me! If anything, Haru-chan helped me!" I turned from Tamaki and stood next to Haruhi. I took her hand, and Tamaki's eyes widened. "She wouldn't be capable of something like that."

"_She_!?" Everyone shrieked.

Haruhi and I started laughing, so hard to the point we were writhing on the floor.

"They totally bought it! Ahaha, '_Do you realize what could have happened_!?' Ahaha!" I yelled, crying.

"Their faces were priceless! They totally bought it!" Haruhi exclaimed, struggling to breathe.

Tamaki laid face down on the floor, completely drained of color.

I got a hold of myself and walked over to him, crouching so he could hear me. "Sorry Onii-chan. It was just too funny to pass up." I said unapologetically.

Suddenly Hikaru's arm was around my waist and Haruhi was next to me.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a couple of new toys." The twins whispered in our ears.

"I'm not a toy." Haruhi said in an annoyed tone.

"'Toy'? That's kind of rude." I said, stepping away from them. I heard the clacking of a keyboard and turned my attention to Kyoya. I quietly walked over to him and leaned over his shoulder, watching what he was doing.

"Did you need something?" He asked, keeping his eyes glued to the screen.

"No." I said sweetly, looking at his reflection on the screen. "What are you doing?"

"I'm calculating this month's budget." He said matter of factly.

"Sounds boring." I replied, resting my chin on his head.

"Then why don't you find something fun to do before club starts?" He asked, still typing away.

"Because it's fun to watch you. I just thought what you were typing was boring." I said as I began messing with his hair.

"You should probably put your hat on. Club is about to start." He said as he punched in the last few numbers.

"Uuugh, I don't want to! It's uncomfortable and heavy…" I said as I twirled my hair in a bun. "Onii-chan, I think I'm going to cut my hair."

"What? Why would you do that?" he asked, stopping whatever he was doing to look at me.

"I should cut it like Haru-chan's!" I exclaimed, throwing my arm over her shoulder. "That way I wouldn't have to wear a hat!"

"I think you'd look cute with short air!" Honey said, smiling happily as flowers flittered around his head. "How about you Takashi-kun?"

"Yeah." Mori said bluntly.

"I'd kind of like to see her with short hair." Hikaru said.

"It'd be different." Kaoru replied as they nodded their heads.

"Alright! I'll make an appointment now." I said, taking out my cell phone.

Someone plucked the phone out of my hand and snapped it closed.

"Hey!" I said as I turned and saw Kyoya. "Give me my phone back!"

I tried to snatch it from him, but he held it above his head just slightly out of my reach.

"I don't think you should cut your hair, Imoto." Tamaki said, looking at me.

"Give me my phone Kyoya-kun!" I exclaimed, standing on my tip toes trying to reach it.

"If you can get it, you can have it." He said simply, pushing up his glasses with his free hand.

"That's not fair! You're four inches taller than me!" I retorted, putting my hands on my hips. "Why won't you give me my phone?"

"I like your hair. I don't think you should cut it." He said casually.

My mouth clamped shut and a heavy blush covered my cheeks. How can he say that so casually? It's like he's saying it just so say it!

"E-either way, I need to make a hair appointment. C-can I please have my phone back?" I asked sheepishly.

"I figured. Your split ends are pretty noticeable." He said, a smirk playing on his lips as he held out my phone.

My cheeks turned even redder as I snatched the phone and stuttered, "H-how rude! I don't even have split ends you jerk!"

"Then what do you need to go to the salon for?" Haruhi asked.

A slight smile spread on my face and I looked at the ground. "…There's a boy…"

Tamaki tensed up, but I didn't notice.

"He asked me out on a date."

"Who is it!?" Tamaki exclaimed, grabbing my shoulders.

"If I tell you, you'll yell at me." I retorted, turning my head to the side.

"Tell me!" He yelled, shaking my shoulders.

"Fine! It's… Kurai-kun…"

"Kurai Atashima-san!?" Everyone but Haruhi exclaimed.

"Yeah…" I replied.

"How did he know you were a girl?" Honey asked.

"We transferred to the same school in America, and I talked to him in some of my elective classes. He came back to Japan the same time I did, but he's a second year so we don't have any classes together…"

"I forbid it!" Tamaki exclaimed.

"Why? We're just going to walk around the shopping district. We'll be in a public place the whole time. What can he do in a public place?" I asked.

"You can't be too careful." Honey said.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Just then it was time for the club to open, to the conversation ended.

As the time progressed and I entertained the girls, I noticed everyone kept glancing at me. When I caught a break I made my appointment, so there was no going back now.

The next day passed and club was over, so I packed up my things with a huge smile on my face.

"Are you really going to go?" Tamaki asked me.

"Yes." I said simply, keeping my eyes focused on packing my things.

Tamaki sighed, and looked back at the Host Club members.

"We're all worried about you."

"Why?" I asked, looking up at him seriously.

"You know about his father-"

"His father isn't him. Just like you and Dad are different, so are Mr. Atashima and Kurai." I said sternly. I snapped my attention back to my things and pulled off my hat, my normally straight hair flowing down in bouncy curls. In the midst of the blonde curls were several blue and purple ones standing out vibrantly.

"You dyed your hair!?" Tamaki exclaimed.

"Do you like it? I love how it came out." I said, twirling a lock of purple hair around my finger. I looked at the clock and gasped.

"I'm gonna be late! Bye guys!" I yelled, grabbing my bag and hurrying home.

I threw on the outfit I had picked out and flew out the door, hurrying to the meeting spot.

"Kurai-kun!" I yelled about ten feet away from him.

He turned to face me, and a slight smile spread on his face as I stopped in front of him.

"I'm sorry *huff huff* I'm late…" I said, trying to catch my breath.

"It's alright. I'm just happy you showed up." He said with a smile on his face. "Shall we go?" he asked, holding his arm out to me.

"Yeah." I replied, linking my arm with his.

"I like your hair. It suits you." He said honestly with a smile.

"You do? Everyone else looked like they hated it." I replied, pulling a strand of blue hair over my shoulder.

"I can't see why. I love it." He said, taking one of the curls in his hand.

A light blush crept on to my cheeks and I smiled. "So, where are we going?" I asked.

"Where do you want to go?"

"The arcade!" I said instantaneously. My mouth slammed shut and I blushed harder. "I'm sorry, that's not a very girly thing to say…"

"Who said you had to be girly? I like you the way you are. Come on, let's go kick some virtual butt!" He said, holding his hand out to me.

I smiled even more and took his outstretched hand. He flashed me a smile and we ran to the arcade.

We played air hockey and shooting games for an hour and a half, having fun and spending most of our money.

"We should probably leave before we go broke…" I said.

We looked at each other and laughed. In the back of my mind I imagined Haruhi saying, 'These damn rich people.' I laughed a little more.


	4. Chapter 3

(A/N): _OMG GUYS WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME I UPLOADED THE WRONG DOCUMENT IM SO SORRY I SHALL ATONE WITH MY DEATH! Just kidding. But still, I'm SO sorry I didn't realize this sooner. If this happens again (which I hope it wont) please tell me so I can upload the right document. I'll post Chapter 4 also as an apology_

"Come on, there's a place I want to show you." He said, lightly taking my hand.

"Okay!" I said happily, a huge smile erupting on my face.

He took me to a quiet section of the mall with very few people, and he told me to close my eyes.

I was a little hesitant, but obliged.

He had me turn a corner and walk a few feet until I could open my eyes.

"Wow… I never knew this was here!" I exclaimed, marveling at what was in front of me.

"Do you want to go in?" He asked.

"Do you even have to ask? Yes!" I exclaimed, grabbing his hand and running in.

The place was a giant bookstore, ranging from newest releases to classics to one of a kind antiques. We stayed there for a long time as I excitedly browsed the books.

"Huh, that's weird…" I said, looking at my phone.

"What?" Kurai asked, looking over my shoulder.

"My brother isn't blowing up my phone. I should go home and check on him." I said, placing the book I was browsing back on the shelf.

"I'll walk you home." Kurai said.

"Thanks."

On the way home we somehow got in to a discussion about vocaloids. We talked about the songs we liked and what they meant, the songs and vocaloids we didn't know about, and how they came to be.

"See you at school tomorrow. I had a lot of fun today." I said as we reached the front door.

"Me too. Oh, there's something I want to give you." Kurai said, reaching his back pocket.

"Oh, you didn't have to get me anything…" I said.

"Here." He said, holding out a long and slender box.

I hesitantly took it and opened it, revealing a pretty necklace. It was a silver chain and a sapphire, tear shaped gem.

"It's so pretty!" I exclaimed, looking at it.

"Here, I'll put it on for you." Kurai said, taking it out of the box.

I turned around and moved my hair so he could put it on.

His fingertips brushed lightly against the back of my neck and sent shivers down my spine. Heat rose in my cheeks and I silently begged him to hurry up.

"There."

I turned back around and looked at the necklace. "Thank you, Kurai-kun."

"No thanks needed." He said sheepishly. "Your brother is probably worried. I'll see you tomorrow." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, he'll probably yell at me as soon as I go inside." I grabbed the doorknob and said, "Goodnight."

"Wait!"

I turned to face him, and he had a dark blush on his cheeks.

"What is it?" I asked.

He was silent for a few seconds and avoided eye contact with me.

Right when I was about to speak up again, he looked in to my eyes with a serious expression. He took a step towards me and placed a hand on my cheek, causing my heart to beat wildly. His fingers brushed my bangs out of my face and I squeezed my eyes shut.

I felt something warm touch my forehead and I felt like my heart was a rabid animal trying to escape a tiny cage.

"Goodnight…" I heard Kurai whisper.

I opened my eyes and they met Kurai's. He had such a sweet look on his face, and the blush on his cheeks made him look like a lovesick little boy.

His hand moved from my cheek and he stepped back. "See you."

"Yeah…" I replied with a deep, burning red staining my face and ears.

He waved, and I watched him until he reached the end of the road. He looked back, smiled, and continued on around the corner.

"You can come out now, Onii-chan."I said, sitting on the steps as I tried to calm down.

"Huh!? How did you know I was here!?" he exclaimed, sticking his head out of a bush.

"The rest of you can come out, too."

Everyone else emerged from the bush, and I sighed. "You weren't blowing up my phone, so you had to be watching me." I said, looking up at Tamaki.

"Wow, your face is really red." Kaoru said, poking my cheek.

I slapped his hand away and said, "Shut up! It's the first time I've ever been kissed!"

Tamaki fell over in a heap and I sighed.

"You're an idiot, Onii-chan." I said, standing up.

"Do you'll think he'll kiss her for real next time?" Hikaru asked Kaoru.

I smacked the back of his head as my brother had the word 'kiss' stab him in the back.

"This is an intriguing development. It seems Josephine-chan kisses on the first date." Kyoya said.

"That's mean! Stop teasing me!" I yelled, chucking my wallet at him.

He dodged it and it fell in to a bush.

"_I like your hair_. _It suits you_." Hikaru said mockingly, messing with my hair.

"_I like you the way you are_." Kaoru teased, whispering in my ear.

"Shut up!" I yelled, jumping away from them as heat returned to my cheeks.

"That's enough." Tamaki said, placing an arm around my shoulder.

"When did he go back to normal?" Haruhi asked.

"Josephine. I need to talk to you." He said sternly, his grip tightening on my shoulder.

'_He's mad at me_!'

"Bye guys…" I said, waving to the Host Club members.

Tamaki took me inside, and everyone else went home.

The door closed behind us and I moved to turn on the lights, but Tamaki wouldn't let go of my shoulder.

"Josephine…" He said seriously.

Chills shot down my spine and I froze, fear striking me like a ton of bricks.

"What were you thinking?"

'_Not this again_.'

"What do you mean what was I thinking?" I replied, speaking angrily.

"What was that out there? You acted like-"

"I didn't do anything wrong!" I yelled, breaking out of his grasp and facing him.

"You acted like the past didn't exist!" Tamaki yelled back.

"The past is the past! Kurai-kun didn't do anything, so stop acting like he's the bad guy!"

"I'm just trying to protect you!" He yelled, grabbing my wrist tightly.

"I don't need you to protect me! I can make my own decisions!"

"Quit acting like you know everything!" Tamaki screamed, grabbing my wrist even tighter.

It started to lose feeling, so I tried to get free.

"You don't know what he can do to you! You're not strong enough to defend yourself if he tried to hurt you!"

"That doesn't mean you need to treat me like a baby! If I need help, I'll call someone!"

"What if nobody's around!? What are you going to do when you can't call someone!?"

"I won't let myself get in that situation! It's nearly impossible when you're following me all the damn time!"

"…Fine. If you want to put yourself in danger, I won't stop you." He said, letting me go and heading to his room.

I stared at him as he walked down the hallway and slammed his door. "I thought you knew me, but it seems like I'm more of a stranger than anybody to you…" I whispered as I headed up the stairs.

Once I was in my room I pulled one of the boxes out of my closet and surveyed my karate belts. I had been taking classes since before I could remember and reached a black belt, but Grandmother found out and insisted I stop. Since Tamaki came along, I learned to suppress my strength and act like a proper lady.

If he really thinks I'm in that much danger, I'll start practicing again. I twirled my hair in a loose bun and started doing pushups. I'll show Tamaki just how capable I am.

As soon as I exited me room the next morning, I heard the car pulling out of the driveway. I breathed a sigh of relief, happy there was no early morning tension.

School passed quickly, and Haruhi talked happily with me as we headed to the Host Club. As soon as we opened the doors, I was hit with an icy aura.

'_This idiot_...' I said to myself.

There was a knock on the door, causing all of our attention to turn to it.

The door opened to reveal Kurai, looking for me.

"Hey Josephine-chan, can I talk to you for a minute... alone?"

Everyone in the room tensed up, and Haruhi just looked around curiously.

"Sure!" I said happily, walking out of the room despite Tamaki's glare.

He took me to the rooftop, my favorite place in the school, and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about yesterday. I went too far." He said.

"It's alright. You shouldn't make a big deal over it." I said, waving my hand.

"It is a big deal. I shouldn't have done it and I feel bad for it. To make it up to you, can we go on another date?" He asked.

"Sure! Sounds like fun! When do you want to go?" I asked.

"Are you free this weekend?"

"Yeah! How about Saturday at noon?"

"It's a date." Kurai said, smiling.

We exchanged numbers and he walked me back to the clubroom.

"See you!" I called down the hallway, waving before I walked back in.

I paid no mind to the eyes on me as I entered the clubroom. I walked straight over to my bag and pulled out my cell phone, inserting his number in to it.

"What's that?" Hikaru asked, looking over one shoulder while Kaoru looked over another.

"Kurai's number." I said simply.

The room got really tense and I snapped my phone closed, having finished putting his number in.

"I'm going on another date." I said, challenging Tamaki. I turned around quickly and looked at Haruhi. "We still have some time before club starts. Want to get some food?"

"Um, sure..." She said uncertainly.

"Great! Boy, am I hungry! Maybe I'll get a big bowl of rice and some good old fashioned curry!" I said as I walked out the door.

Haruhi followed after me and we talked about food, forgetting about the tense room behind us.

No POV:

Tamaki stared at the door as he heard his little sisters voice get further and further away.

What was she thinking? She knew what Kurai's father did, but still chooses to hang out with his son and go on dates with him? That boy is just like his father, and Tamaki knew it.

"You know, you can try talking to her." Hikaru said.

"It seems like she listens to everything you say." Kaoru added.

"That's the thing." Tamaki said. "She just won't listen to me, no matter if I talk or yell."

"Maybe she's in love!" Honey said, pink roses flittering around his head like usual.

The screen cracked, shattering Tamaki's shocked face into multiple parts.

That can't be! There's no way he could allow it. Not with _that boy_, or any boy! He needs to do whatever he can to make that date terrible! That way, she'll never want to go out with him again! It was foolproof!

"I'll do whatever it takes to keep my sister's heart safe!" He exclaimed, pointing at nothing in particular.

Kyoya sighed, knowing this shenanigan would only drain the club's savings.

Haruhi and Josephine returned, ignoring the awkward mood and still talking about food.

"Yeah! It was so good I asked for another bowl of rice." She said, clutching a black bowl in her hands.

"At public schools, school lunches aren't even food." Haruhi said, with a day dreamy look on her face.

"Remember the barbecue at summer camp? Best. Fish. Ever!"

Saturday rolled around, and Tamaki had assembled everyone besides Haruhi at eleven thirty. He was unable to find out where they were going, so he had everyone wait outside the house.

At eleven forty-five, Josephine walked out of the house. She had let her hair down, having the curled locks cascade down her back. She was wearing a flowy white dress, causing the vibrant colors in her hair to stand out even more. She also had the slightest bit of makeup on her face; enough to enhance her features but pass as a natural look.

Everyone stared at her in shock as she straightened out her dress, which enhanced her curves nicely.

She stuck her phone in her purse, and headed to wherever the meet up point was.

Ten minutes later she stopped in front of a park, where little kids were playing and a few couples were taking a stroll.

"Kurai!" She called, waving her hand.

"Wow... Josephine, you look beautiful!" Kurai said, looking her up and down.

"Thanks..." Josephine replied, a slight blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Shall we go?" He asked, holding out his arm.

Josephine slipped her arm through his, and they headed off towards an amusement park.

"Let's ride The Avalanche!" Josephine exclaimed, pointing at the newest roller coaster.

"Alright... If you say so..." Kurai said, looking uncertainly at the coaster.

He screamed like a little girl, while Josephine laughed like a child.

They exited the ride, and Josephine pulled him on another coaster.

7 high speed roller coasters later...

"Why didn't you tell me you didn't like roller coasters?" She asked worriedly, her hand on his shoulder as he crouched over a garbage can.

He looked up at her, the green color faintly showing on his face, and said, "You were having so much fun; I thought I could endure it..."

She blushed a little and said, "How about we ride the log ride?"

He smiled, and they headed over to the water ride.

Tamaki looked at everyone, and signaled it was go time.

They poured a bucket of water over her, but Kurai quickly brought her a towel and paid for a dryer.

They put a bug in her hair, but she untangled it and named it Fred.

They put a fake sign saying the train was closed, so the pair took the tunnel of love instead.

Tamaki got in trouble for exiting the boat and climbing over the props.

They placed a banana peel on the floor in the food court but Josephine just laughed and helped Kurai up, picking a French fry out of his hair.

Tamaki threw down his burger and stomped on it, earning a glare from the janitor.

He hurriedly cleaned it up and apologized.

The twins decided to take it in their own hands.

They posed as security guards and accused Kurai of stealing something, but Josephine retaliated and said they hadn't passed any shops.

After that they placed another banana peel down, but all that did was the usual 'catch her before she falls' thing.

Kyoya took his turn, requiring a math question to enter the ride.

Josephine answered swiftly.

Honey and Mori set up a game stall, and the other members were in disguise. Kurai won Josephine a cute teddy bear.

Tamaki didn't see the point in that stall. Kyoya said they took Kurai's money, even if it was only five dollars.

Tamaki gave it one last try and hoped it would work.

"What's that?" Josephine asked.

"Want to check it out?"

"Sure."

They walked in through the curtains, and Josephine's eyes widened.

"Hello there silly girl! Wanna come learn to juggle?" Tamaki asked in a goofy voice, disguised as a clown.

She staggered backwards, too scared to speak or scream.

"Helloooo theereee~!" The twins said, their unison making their voices even creepier.

Josephine flinched away from them, bumping in to a shelf and knocking a ton of rainbow wigs over.

Kyoya sat over in a corner, crankily acting as a clerk decked out in clown makeup.

Honey and Mori stood in front of her. Honey smiled over enthusiastically, and Mori looked down at her normally.

She fearfully looked at the clowns making a semi-circle around her, her eyes darting around for a chance to escape.

"Coomee plaaay with uuuus~" they all said.

Josephine screamed at the top of her lungs and ran, pushing Tamaki and Kaoru out of the way as she bolted for the door.

Kurai chased after her, and Tamaki sighed.

"Josephine!" Kurai called, finally catching up to her.

She was seated under a tree, curled up in a ball and rocking herself.

"They're just guys in makeup... They're just guys in makeup... They're just guys in makeup..." The muttered, desperately trying to calm herself down.

"Josephine... Are you afraid of clowns?" Kurai asked.

She flinched and looked up at him. "...Terrified."

"Why?"

"...When I was little I went to the circus. I got separated from everyone else, and a clown tried to take me. None of the others helped me. They just watched and laughed. Now every time I see a clown I freeze up and get scared."

"That's... Horrible..."

"...I think I'm done with the amusement park."

"Good idea. Let's go somewhere else." Kurai said, taking her hand and leading her out of the park.

The club members hurriedly cleaned themselves up and followed the two.


	5. Chapter 4

(A/N): _Again, so sorry about the mixup. Here's chapter four! If you don't hate me with a burning passion that could melt a thousand suns, please answer a poll on my page. Thanks and loves!_

No POV:

After about twenty minutes of walking, the pair ended up at the meeting point. They decided to walk around the park for awhile.

They talked about the lake, then Swan Lake, then that one time a kid got attacked by a swan back in America, and somehow got on the topic of the Host Club.

"You must know the guys there, with your brother being the president and all."

"Yeah, I like them all. They tend to tease me a lot, but its fun hanging out with them. I even knew Haruhi-kun before. I went to summer camp with him."

"You go to summer camp?"

"Yeah, it's fun. I learn all kinds of neat stuff. Like, that weed right there is edible. And these trees over here, their bark can burn longer than most other trees."

"That is really cool. Maybe I should go with you this summer." Kurai said, smiling.

"You totally could! Both boys and girls can go." She replied, a huge smile in her face.

Tamaki scowled.

"I don't think your brother would like that, though." Kurai said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Tamaki-san?" Josephine asked.

Tamaki flinched.

"He'll have a fit if I breathe near someone without permission. I might as well get yelled at for doing something fun if I'm going to get yelled at regardless."

"'Tamaki-san'? Did you have a fight with him?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You usually call him 'Onii-chan'."

Josephine's expression went from happy to depressed. "Tamaki-san and I had a... falling-out after our first date. I'm sure he didn't mean to, but he did this." She said. She held out her wrist, and a firm purple bruise stood out against her skin. She moved her sleeve off of her shoulder, and another faint bruise was visible.

Tamaki stared in disbelief. He began to tremble, and his expression showing complete and utter shock.

"Oh my gosh! He abused you!?" Kurai exclaimed, gently taking hold of her wrist.

"No, nothing like that. He was just mad... But..." She began to tremble, and her voice was shaky as she spoke. "I was so scared... My brother, my sweet, kind, and goofy brother, was screaming at me. He was hurting me, and he didn't even know it. My brother... Onii-chan... Was so furious he hurt me..." She paused for a second, and Tamaki saw a tear slide down her cheek. "He was scary..."

Kurai hugged her, and she cried right there in the middle of the park. Right where everyone could see her.

Tamaki couldn't believe it.

He had hurt his sister, the very person he was trying to protect. He made her cry, when he was trying to prevent it from happening.

He was the bad guy.

"Tama-chan... Are you okay?" Honey asked, tugging lightly on his sleeve.

He looked at Josephine with his tear filled eyes and said, "Imoto... I'm sorry."

"Onii-chan, I'm sorry..." Josephine choked out.

"Why is she apologizing?" Tamaki asked, clenching his fists.

"Why are you apologizing?" Kurai asked at the same time.

She stepped away from him and wiped her tears but some still remained in her eyes. "Onii-chan was only trying to protect me... but I yelled at him because I was stubborn..." She said, reaching for her wallet. She took out her phone, and more tears stung at her eyes when she had no messages.

"Are you alright?" Kurai asked worriedly, reaching out to her.

"Onii-chan... must hate me..." she said. "Kurai, I need to go home. Sorry! I'll make it up to you!"

She turned around and started running, flying past the Host Club towards the Suoh mansion.

Tamaki took off after her, leaving the befuddled members in the dust.

"Quick! After them!" Hikaru exclaimed, taking off with Kaoru.

Honey and Mori ran after them, and Kyoya stood alone behind the bush.

He sighed, pushed his glasses up, and walked in the direction of the mansion.

Josephine POV:

I threw open the door and was met with a dark and empty room.

"Onii-chan!?" I exclaimed, dropping my wallet and flicking on the light.

Silence.

"Onii-chan!?" I called again desperately.

Silence.

He left...

"Imoto!" someone screamed from outside.

I snapped my head around, and saw Tamaki running towards the house. He stopped right in front of me, and before he could do anything I bowed my head low.

"I'm sorry Onii-chan! I'm sorry I yelled at you and I'm sorry I ignored you at school! I'm sorry I-"

Tamaki placed his hands on my shoulders and I looked up, meeting his tear filled eyes with mine. His arms wrapped around my shoulder, and we both cried and apologized to each other.

After a few minutes I stepped back and wiped my eyes. "So... where's everyone else?"

He tensed up, and I poked my head out the door.

"You guys are so predictable. Come out already." I said, looking at a large bush in the driveway.

Suddenly everyone ran in to my front yard, coming from the street.

"I forgot, I ran here..." I said, looking as they panted.

"You... Should try out for track..." Hikaru said, sucking in air greedily.

"I don't like running that much..." I replied, shifting my feet sheepishly. "Anyway, where's Kyoya?"

Everyone looked at each other and shrugged.

"You left him behind? And where's Haruhi?"

"Boss didn't ask her to come." Kaoru replied, regaining his breath.

"I guess that makes sense..."

Just then Kyoya walked up the walkway, scribbling in his notebook.

I sighed and looked at Tamaki. At least he isn't so mad anymore.

A few months passed. Kurai had taken me on more dates, going places like the aquarium, the movies, the beach, festivals, and even a concert. Tamaki had stopped following me, but still didn't like Kurai. I trained every day, and my results started to show. I was skinnier, stronger, and more energetic. My figure looked a lot better, but the uniforms hid everything for the Host Club.

Physical testing rolled around for PE, and the first day we measured everyone's night and weight.

"I haven't eaten for three days!" One girl said.

"Really? My parents have been making me eat dinner." The girl beside her replied.

"Jo! You're dressed!" Haruhi exclaimed when she spotted me. "What did you do?"

"There's an abandoned changing room over there. The staff gave me a boy's uniform on accident, so everything worked out perfectly." I replied, whispering back to her.

"So, how long did you girls starve yourselves?" Hikaru asked, appearing behind us.

"I have no reason to. I weigh how much I weigh. It's not that big of a deal." Haruhi replied, brushing them off.

"What about you, Miss Chubby?" Kaoru teased, whispering in my ear.

"I already told you, I weigh 155 pounds. It's normal weight for a girl my height." I replied, shooing them away. "You must weigh about a hundred, Haruhi. You're a few inches shorter than me."

"I don't really remember, but that sounds right." She replied nonchalantly.

We separated, and I stepped on the scale.

"123 pounds." The teacher said.

"Huh? I thought I weighed more... Whatever." I replied, stepping off the scale.

Next my height was measured.

"5' 8"."

"Really? I'm that tall? I thought I was shorter."

Tamaki met up with me, and a few minutes later the whole club was standing in a circle.

"5' 1", 98 pounds." Haruhi said.

"You're actually kinda short, Haruhi. I don't get how you pose as a guy." I said, poking her.

"What about you, Jo? Or are you scared to say you gained weight?" Hikaru teased.

I stuck my tongue out at him and said, "5' 8", 123 pounds."

"When did you lose thirty pounds?" Tamaki asked, poking my stomach. "I didn't notice anything."

"You know Onii-chan, you're an idiot sometimes." I said.

He fell over ant the word 'idiot' stabbed him in the stomach, causing the color to disappear from him as he laid frozen on the ground.

No one paid attention to him and we branched off in a separate circle, where the twins prodded me with their fingers and asked what I did without them noticing.

Just then I noticed Kurai, and a huge smile spread across my face. I walked away from the circle, ignoring what the twins were saying.

"Hey Kura-" I stopped mid sentence, as he walked past me and started talking to another girl. It was one of my regulars.

I shook it off as nothing and acted like I was going to get a drink of water.

When I headed back to the circle, Kurai spoke out to me.

"Jo! Hey, I haven't seen you lately." He said, smiling.

"I we haven't seen each other since last weekend." I replied, smiling.

"About that, did you like it?"

"Yeah! I had a ton of fun at the concert."

"Good. Hey, um, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out on Sunday."

"Sure! I'm free." I said happily.

"Great. I'll text you later."

"Okay! See you." I waved and headed back to the circle.

"So I'm guessing you're not going to the mall with us Saturday?" Hikaru asked.

"I'm still going with you guys. I'm just not free this Sunday."

Tamaki flinched from his place on the floor. He stood up, and looked around. We all laughed at him, and gym ended.

The next day was push-ups and sit-ups the day after. I was placed with the guys, of course.

"And, begin!"

We all started doing push-ups, and it seemed to drag on for a long time. When the numbers got closer to ninety, a lot of guys started giving up. In the end it was me, Mori, Honey, and Ritsu Kasanoda.

We all ended up in a competition, with Ritsu giving up after two hundred. Honey got tired around three, and Mori was too concerned about him to keep going.

"Four hundred and ninety-three." The tape said.

The next was sit-ups. Those were a lot easier, so most of the boys got around one hundred and fifty before expiring.

"Six hundred and fifty-nine."

The next three days we did things like pull-ups, the trunk lift, the mile, and a few other things.

"When did you suddenly get insanely fit!?" Tamaki exclaimed on Friday.

"Onii-chan, don't you remember when you first got here my room was covered in karate awards and belts? All I had to do was start training again and now I'm really fit."

"You're a karate master!?"

I smacked the back of his head and said, "No. I only got to a black belt before Shizue-san forced me to quit."

"Oh yeah! I remember now!" He said, snapping his fingers.

I sighed and the bell rang, signaling PE was over.

Saturday came along, and Tamaki pulled me out of bed at 7 am. He urged me to get dressed and hurried me out of the house while I was still half asleep.

"Onii-chan, I'm tired... Are we almost there?" I asked after a long time of walking. The whole time I held on to his arm and snoozed on his shoulder, following him without question.

"Yeah, were at the train station." He said happily.

"Train station...?" I replied, lifting my head from his shoulder.

I heard a door hiss closed behind me and the floor jerked, making me clutch tightly on to Tamaki.

"Hi Josephine!" The twins exclaimed. "Nice bed head!"

"You didn't tell me we were taking the train!" I yelled at Tamaki.

"You didn't ask!" He replied with an irritatingly innocent expression.

I grumbled and thumped down in a seat, folding my arms and slouching in a huff.

After a few minutes everyone eased back, talking to whoever they were next to or doing their own thing. Tamaki, who was sitting next to me, was chatting up Haruhi like there was no tomorrow. The twins were playing video games, Honey was playing with Mori, and Kyoya was on my right scribbling things down in his notebook.

I had plugged my earphones in my ears and zoned out, getting lost in the music as my eyelids drooped.

Kyoya POV:

I was jotting down estimated numbers for the trip when I felt something weigh down on my shoulder. I glanced away from my notes to see Josephine snoozing away with her earphones falling out of her ears. I faintly heard 'Painting Flowers' by All Time Low playing and I smiled. I shifted a little so she wouldn't have a kink in her neck when she woke up and continued on with my estimations.

The train chugged along for about an hour without a hitch when Josephine started stirring. Her face was twisted in anger and fear and she couldn't sit still, constantly shifting and mumbling.

"Josephine?" I asked, shifting a little so I could shake her.

Suddenly she sat up and screamed, snapping wide awake and frantic.

In the short shocked silence that filled the train, she put her face in her hands and trembled.

"What's wrong, Imoto?" Tamaki asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"N-nothing, I... I just need a minute by myself." She said, standing up and leaving the car.

We all looked at each other, and then looked worriedly at the door.

Josephine POV:

I sat in the empty car for a few minutes, trying to catch my breath and calm down. My dream replayed in my head, causing tears to gather in my eyes and make me tremble.

"It's just a dream... But why did it feel so real?"

Suddenly I heard the conductor calling our stop and stood up. I took a deep breath, and pushed the dream to the back of my mind.

A few days passed, and Kurai started walking me to some of my classes. It made me really happy.

One day he met me after school and told me he needed to talk to me.

"Josephine-chan... There's something I wanted to tell you." He said, taking my hand.

"Actually, I wanted to say something first." I replied, looking up at him. His pale blue eyes looked back at me, and my heart thumped in my chest. "I... I like you."

Kurai smiled and put his hand on my cheek, leaning in as he did so.

My heart pounded and I leaned closer to him, our lips mere centimeters from each other.

Suddenly the door to the roof flew open, revealing a furious Tamaki.

"Josephine-chan!" He screamed, stomping over to me.

"Onii-chan? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"_You_, are coming with me!" He exclaimed, grabbing my wrist and dragging me.

"W-what? Kurai-kun, I'm sorry!" I exclaimed as Tamaki dragged me out the door.

"I've let this to on long enough! You're forbidden from hanging out with him from now on!" Tamaki said.

"What!? You can't do that!"

"Oh yes I can."

"You can't do anything! You're not the boss of me!"

"If I'm not the boss of you, who is?"

"I am! And I can choose who I like!"

I heard Kurai hesitantly walk down the stairs and ripped free of Tamaki's grasp.

"Come on Kurai-kun, let's go." I said, taking his hand.

I eventually had to go back to the Host Club to get my stuff and work as a host, but by the time that happened Kurai and I established what we were.

Upon entering the room I had a huge smile on my face and hummed, happily ignoring Tamaki as I tidied up my hair.

"Someone's happy." Hikaru said, appearing behind me in the mirror.

"Of course I would be. I'm going on a date with my boyfriend this weekend." I said, shooting a challenging glare at Tamaki through the mirror.

"Your what!?" He screamed, furious.

"My _boyfriend_." I replied.

"You're dating him!?"

"Yes. And there's nothing you can say to change my mind."

Just then it was time for the Host Club to open, so our conversation ended there.


	6. Chapter 5

5 months later...

Tamaki and I had grown extremely far apart, and we got to the point of having screaming matches every day. Everyone around us could sense it, and the Host Club tried multiple times to fix it. It always ended badly.

Kurai and I spent lots of time together. After the Host Club, instead of going home I would hang out with him. The few days a week he was busy I would walk around and practice.

It was a normal day in the Host Club, except the members tried to get us to talk again.

"Are you _trying_ to get hurt!? _That boy_ will-" Tamaki exclaimed.

"That boy? _That boy_!? Don't talk about Kurai-kun that way!" I screamed.

"Just listen to me! I don't want you to get hurt!"

"The only person who's hurting me is you! All you do is yell at me! I'm old enough to make my own choices!" I glared at him and yelled, "I hate you, Tamaki-san!"

I ran out of the Host Club, throwing my hat on the ground as I ran.

I slammed the door to my room and cried for an hour, throwing things and screaming that Tamaki was an idiot.

That's it. I'm done. I'm done dealing with this. If he hates me so much, then I'll leave.

I threw all of my schoolwork out of my backpack and filled it with money and clothes, plus a couple of keepsakes and necessities.

Then I was gone.

A week passed, and I had told Kurai everything. He said all the members were talking about search parties and constantly questioning him at school.

"I'm sorry. I just can't take getting yelled at by my brother anymore." I said.

"It's alright. As long as I get to be with you." He said, smiling.

I ran a hand through my freshly cut blonde hair. I had hacked it off, and adopted the style of Natsuki Shinomiya. I didn't want to be recognized, so I had no other choice. What other Japanese person had really long blonde hair?

The next day I went to pick him up from school. It had become natural for me, but I had come a little earlier than usual. I made my way through the courtyard, but suddenly stopped.

I saw Kurai about fifty feet away, standing under a barren cherry tree with another girl. She had a deep blush on her cheeks, and he had that sweet smile on his face.

'_My dream_?_ Why is my dream playing now_?'

He put his hand on her cheek, and leaned in towards her. Her eyes closed, and their lips touched.

I stood for a couple of seconds, but didn't wake up.

'_Huh_? _What's going on_?'

No… it can't be…

This is all too real.

I sat in an abandoned park, crying my eyes out as my heart burned. Never once had I suspected it, but now that I look back I can see it was all too obvious.

Tamaki was right, and the last words I said to him were 'I hate you!'

"I'm sorry, Onii-chan... I'm sorry..."

I'm so stupid… I ran away in the spur of the moment, and I can't go back now. Everyone probably hates me, will tell me 'I told you so' and never talk to me again. Especially Tamaki. He has every right to hate me, and I don't blame him.

Another week passed, and every day I had the same nightmare over and over. I haven't been able to sleep the last two days, and my cash was running low. I had enough for a couple more nights in a hotel, but that's about it.

I had constantly been crying, and haven't done much else besides vigorously practice. It was all I could do to keep warm, since winter was in full swing.

One day I stood under a bare tree, letting the rain pound down on me. I liked the rain, but I was annoyed because now I was always wet.

Tears slid down my face occasionally, but I was so used to crying I didn't even notice.

Suddenly it stopped raining, but I still heard the pounding rain slam down on the ground. I looked up, and saw none other than Ritsu Kasanoda holding an umbrella out to me.

"Are you alright, Miss?" He asked.

"Kasanoda-san?" Wait, how does he know I'm a girl? I looked down, and saw my soaked jacket stuck to my skin.

"Huh? How do you know my name?" he asked.

"...It's a long story."

I turned the knobs to the shower off and picked up the towel, feeling refreshed for the first time in a long time. I put on some clean clothes Kasanoda gave me, and walked out as I dried my hair.

"Thank you for letting me use your shower." I said to him.

"It's no trouble." He replied, scratching his head.

Then I started from the beginning.

"...Then I screamed, 'I hate you Tamaki-san!' And ran out. I ran away after that, only to find out Kurai-kun cheated on me. Now I have nowhere to go, Onii-chan probably hates me, and it's my entire fault..." I said, tears falling out of my eyes and on to my lap.

"So you're telling me that you're Tamaki Suoh-san's sister, who is really Jo Suoh the new host, and you dated a guy Tamaki didn't like. You ran away after five months of constant fighting, and now you're here after being cheated on?"

I nodded.

"…You know, finals are coming up. I think you should come back to school."

"How can I go back now?"

"Those guys are going to start a search party tomorrow if they can't find you. I don't think they'd go that far if they hated you."

"...You really think so?"

"I think if you say what you need to say, everything will work out."

"...Thank you, Kasanoda-kun."

The next day, Ritsu went with me to the Host Club. But when I finally got there, I stood in front of the door and stared at it.

After about two minutes, Ritsu spoke up.

"What's wrong?"

"...I'm scared."

"Nothing's going to change if you run away again."

I pursed my lips and took a deep breath.

No POV:

Tamaki stood in the clubroom, facing the window as the winter sun started to sink in the sky.

"That's it. I'm calling for a search pa-"

He was cut off by a knocking on the door. Everyone's heads turned to face it, and it slowly opened. In stepped Josephine, with Ritsu Kasanoda right behind her.

"Josephine-chan-!"

"Whoa. What's with the hair?" The twins asked.

Josephine looked at everyone, then at Kasanoda, and bowed her head low.

Tears trembled in her eyes and she was visibly shaking, clearly scared out of her mind. "Everyone…" She whimpered. "I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry." She said, her voice shaking. She focused her gaze on Tamaki and said, "I'm sorry, Onii-chan. I… I should have listened to you. I'm sorry for fighting with you… and I'm sorry for running away… I'm sorry I worried all of you and-"

"Thank goodness you're safe." Tamaki said, cutting her off and hugging her. He was trembling, and he held Josephine tightly. "I was so worried about you."

She shakily hugged him back and choked, "I missed you, Onii-chan..."

"So, what is he doing here?" Haruhi asked, looking at Kasanoda.

Tamaki suddenly freaked out and started shaking Josephine.

She walked back over to Kasanoda and said, "He was the one that convinced me to come back."

Tamaki stopped his rant and looked at Kasanoda. He bowed and said, "Thank you for helping my sister."

"N-no thanks needed." He said.

"You helped me a lot, Kasanoda-kun. Thank you." Josephine said. She stood up on her tiptoes and pecked his cheek, causing Tamaki to freak out and his cheeks to go red.

Kasanoda left after that, and everyone talked to Josephine and asked her questions.

The twins messed with her hair, saying they were surprised she went that far. Tamaki cried a little, saying he would miss that little girl image she had. Honey ate cake with her, talking about the crazy things Tamaki did while she was gone. She and Haruhi exchanged a little girl talk, a rare sight for everyone. Kyoya teased her, saying she would have to make up for lost profits. She stuck her tongue out at him, and everyone laughed.

And so, everything returned back to normal. Sort of.

Josephine POV:

I cried myself to sleep twelve nights in a row and had nightmares, replaying just how stupid I was and magnifying every underlying insult or obvious sign. Seeing him with that girl at school and feeling the ever cold necklace against my neck only made it worse. I managed to keep myself together at school, completely ignoring Kurai and focusing on my friends.

"I love you, Josephine-chan."

"I love you, too..."

'_LIES_!'

"Huh?"

"Is everything alright?" He asked, his hand over mine.

"Yeah..."

'_LIAR_!'

Suddenly my hand started to burn, and my head throbbed violently. Kurai had disappeared, and I was left in darkness. I saw him with that girl, and all the times he said he loved me, all the times he hugged me, kissed me, or held me flashed in my mind, tormenting me and making me wish I had him back.

I woke up on the floor in a panic, having fallen out of my bed in my sleep. I sighed and pushed some hair out of my face, trying to suppress my rapid heartbeat.

"Why... Why can't I forget about him?"

I eventually got back in bed, but sleep didn't come due to my fear of nightmares. The sun rose at an excruciatingly slow pace, giving me time to let my thoughts wander. I started crying again, covering my face with a pillow to try and stifle the sound.

When morning finally rolled around I got ready for school and painted a smile on my face. I still wasn't used to my short hair, since it had been long all of my life.

"Imoto? You're not ready yet?" Tamaki asked, looking at me from the hallway.

I looked down and saw I was still in my pajamas.

"Oh... I'm sorry."

"Are you alright?" Tamaki asked, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"Yeah. I just didn't sleep well last night. I'm fine, I promise." I said, smiling at him.

I returned to my room and threw on my uniform, lazily tying my tie and slipping on my shoes.

I closed the car door, and Tamaki sat next to me going through his backpack.

After about fifteen minutes of searching he finally zipped it up and set it down.

"What were you doing?" I asked.

"I was trying to find a slip of paper." He replied.

"Did you find it?"

"No. I remembered I left it in my shoe." He pouted.

"Why'd you do that?"

"So I wouldn't lose it in my backpack..."

"You're an idiot, Onii-chan." I said bluntly, staring out the window.

After having an episode with lightning and word arrows he looked at me and said, "Your tie's crooked."

I looked down at my chest and saw my tie extremely crooked and loose.

"Oh..."

I re-tied it, but still managed to mess up. Tamaki then did it for me, and proceeded to ask if I was okay. I said I was fine.

We got to school and parted ways, arriving a few minutes before the bell since I took longer than usual. I hurried to class, and sat down just before the bell.

I had been talking to Haruhi a lot recently. We stopped hanging out and talking for awhile because of the whole Kurai deal, but now we were like best friends. I dare not say we are, but I wish I could.

"You're cutting it kind of finely..." Haruhi said, looking at the clock.

"I was out of it this morning. I couldn't sleep well." I replied, hanging my backpack on the desk.

"I see. Anyway, Tamaki-senpai told me you've been locked up in your room a lot. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah. Just kind of butt hurt. I'll be fine in a week or two." I replied, waving my hand like it was nothing.

"That's good." She replied, picking up her pencil.

"Hey Haru-chan, can I go over to your house this weekend?" I asked.

The twins opened their ears to this conversation, but we didn't acknowledge them.

"What? Why?" She asked.

"I just thought we could have fun together, just the two of us. A girl's night or whatever. Maybe even a slumber party."

"Sure, I guess. I'll have to go grocery shopping though..."

"Don't worry about that! I'll bring stuff over."

"You don't have to do that. I can-"

"Please, let me. I'll get some fancy tuna for you to try."

"She's baiting her with food!" The twins exclaimed in the background.

"Well... If you insist..." Haruhi replied, daydreaming about tuna.

I was heading to class from lunch, when Kurai called out to me. I planned to keep walking, but he grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

(Based on a real conversation between me and an ex. He didn't cheat on me though :D)

"Hey. Can I ask you something?" He asked.

"Umm, sure?" I replied, a little hesitant. I looked for Haruhi, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Do you like anyone?"

'_Excuse me_!?' "Umm, yes?"

"Do you want to hang out sometime?"

"Instead of hanging out with me you should try to spend time with your _girlfriend_." I snapped.

"So you wouldn't want to?"

"I don't really care either way."

"How about the movies sometime?"

"Sure. As long as you don't ditch me at the last second."

"Promise. Haha, when would you want to go?"

"A weekend. I won't have club."

"Sure. See you then."

"See you..." I said, waving a little as he walked away.

I fiddled with my necklace on the way to the club, and felt a slight bit of hope flare up inside me.

For the next few days I had been constantly fiddling with the necklace, either anxiously or out of boredom.

"You still have that necklace?" Kyoya asked, looking at me instead of his black book.

"Yeah... Is that a bad thing?" I replied.

"...I guess not." He said, looking back to his book.

I got ready for the club opening and sat next to Haruhi. She was just drinking tea, so I chatted with her and drank some too.

I turned my voice down to a whisper and said, "So, at the end of lunch Kurai asked me to go to the movies."

She spit out her tea and exclaimed, "You're not going, are you!?"

Everyone looked at us, and I hastily sat her down. "Of course not! ...but I told him I'd go..."

"You what!?"

"Shh! I'm sorry Haru-chan but I didn't know what to do! I was all alone!"

"You need to break it off. Fast."

"Alright, alright, but don't tell anyone about it!" I said in a normal tone.

"Don't tell anyone about what?" The twins chimed, appearing out of nowhere.

"Nothing!" I yelled back.

Club opened, and I noticed Kurai's girlfriend or whatever at another table. I tried my hardest to ignore her very existence, but the tension in the room caused me to break out in a cold sweat.

School passed, and one day I was walking alone after club. There was no word from Kurai about the movies, and I still cried every night. On my way to the courtyard from south building, I heard someone's voice.

"You're so mean, Kurai-kun. You stuck with that freshman longer than I wanted you to. I was lonely."

"Come on, you and I went on dates with you every Saturday once I switched her day to Sunday. Every day I wasn't with her, I was with you. To prove I love you the most, I bought you this."

I heard a little shuffling, and forced myself not to look.

"A sapphire necklace! Kurai-kun, it's wonderful!"

Her voice irritated me. A shrill and bubbly voice that made me want to slap her.

I snuck a quick peek around the corner, and saw a pale sapphire necklace identical to mine. My hand wrapped tightly around my necklace and squeezed it.

"You shouldn't be jealous of her. She's just a little toy I'm stringing along. You're the one I'm serious about."

My eyes widened as those words stabbed me like a blade. My breath left me for a moment, and my heart jolted as my stomach dropped. I felt lightheaded and nauseous, and my pulse was erratic. I took off in the opposite direction, ripping the necklace off of my neck, my legs carrying me to the Host Club. I trusted my intuition, blindly running as tears stung at my eyes. I'm tired of this. He doesn't look at me, and I know it. His sights are set on that other girl, but I still feel like he's glancing at me, just waiting for me to catch his eye. I know he won't notice me, so why do I feel this way? Why do I feel like I want to curl up in a ball and cry? I hate this. I hate him. I hate myself. I hate this damn feeling I can't get rid of. I love him, and I hate that.

My heart shook at the word 'love' and my words started up again.

No... It's not love. Love isn't whatever... _this_ is. Saying love doesn't feel right. It feels like I'm forcing myself to say it. Either way, why do I feel this way? Why does it hurt so much? Why can't I make it stop?


	7. Chapter 6

I was finally running down the North Hall and threw open the music room doors, darting to the piano covered up in the back. My trembling fingers hovered above the keys. I delicately pressed one, the soft sound breaking the silence in the room. My fingers pressed another, and another, and another, until my fingers were dancing along the keys like they belonged there.

Suddenly someone appeared in the room, standing and listening.

My fingers continued to press the keys, the familiar tune playing in the room. It filled the air, the soft melody making the room seem less empty and sad. My fingers began to slow, the soft sound evaporating to silence.

"Onii-chan…" I whimpered, tears dripping on to my lap. "I need help… I can't do this by myself. If he keeps playing with me like this, I might do something I'll regret…"

I felt Tamaki place his arms around my shoulders, but it seemed different... This person didn't hug me the way Tamaki did.

"Don't worry. I won't let him hurt you anymore."

KYOYA!?

Just then I got a text.

'Hey. Do you want to head to the movies this weekend?'

I glared at the screen and said, "Kyoya-kun, can you come with me? I have some _business_ to attend to."

His eyes glanced at my screen and he said, "I'd be happy to."

I met Kurai in the courtyard, Kyoya hanging back out of sight.

"You know, you could have just texted me-"

*SLAP!*

The satisfying sound echoed throughout the courtyard, and Kurai stood in shocked silence with his hand to his cheek.

"Leave me alone. I don't ever want to talk to you again. If you try to mess with my feelings one more time, I will unleash the power of the Host Club. Now, leave. Me. ALONE." I turned on my heel and walked back to Kyoya, not even giving myself the chance to look back.

We went back to the music room and sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes.

"Umm, Kyoya-kun? Why did you come back to the music room?" I asked.

He held up a USB and said, "I left this here on accident."

"I see..." I replied, turning and looking out the window.

"What was that song you were playing?" Kyoya asked.

"Onii-chan taught it to me. He said it was Mom's favorite..." I replied, smiling a little.

"I never got to ask, but when did you get sent to the Suoh secondary mansion?"

"Right after I was born. Shizue-san didn't want Father to find out, so she had me confined to the mansion since I was a few months old. Onii-chan was only one, so he didn't remember me. I guess you could say I've never met my mother..."

Kyoya stared at me for a moment, as if he was trying to figure something out. "You... You're a lot like Tamaki-kun."

"Huh?"

Just then my cell phone rang, and Tamaki's name flashed on my screen. I picked up the phone, and a frantic voice answered back.

"Where are you? Why aren't you at home? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine; I'm at school right now. I had some... Business to take care of so I'm still here. Don't worry; I've got Kyoya-kun with me."

"What are you doing with Kyoya-kun?" He asked, baffled.

"He helped me take care of some business. Anyway, I'll be home soon."

"Alright. Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and turned to Kyoya.

"I'm gonna head home. Thanks for helping me."

"It's no trouble. I can't have you skipping out on club more than you already have."

I rolled my eyes and picked up my backpack. "See you." I said.

"I'll walk you home." Kyoya replied, throwing his bag over his shoulder.

"But, you take a car home... And you live in the opposite direction..."

"It'd be dangerous to let you go alone. It's starting to get dark." Kyoya replied nonchalantly.

I looked out the window, and saw the sky start to turn dark.

"Umm, thanks, then." I said, walking out with him.

We chatted as we walked, the sky becoming dark above us. Once we reached my house, Kyoya phoned a car and went home.

About a week passed, and I started eating lunch with Kasanoda in the garden. Haruhi and I hung out a lot outside of school, and she started teaching me how to cook. In return, I would teach her how to play piano. The maids and servants taught me, and Tamaki mentored me too. Kyoya and I talked a lot during club, and he would walk me home when I stayed late. The twins started picking on me more, and Tamaki would yell at them. Mori and Honey started talking about summer plans at their dojos.

"Damnit Hikaru! Your smoke bombs aren't funny anymore!" I exclaimed, kicking the ruptured one away as I waved the smoke away.

"I can't believe you keep falling for them! They're in plain sight!" Hikaru exclaimed, holding his gut and laughing.

"Rrg, I'm _so_ glad I'll be away from you all summer long!" I exclaimed.

"Where are you going this summer?" Kaoru asked, putting his arm around my shoulder.

"_I'm_ going to America for the whole summer. My flight leaves right after the last day of school, and I won't be back until the day before break ends."

"When did you decide this?" Tamaki asked.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm spending the summer at Jamie's."

"Jamie? Was she one of your friends from school?"

"No, I met Jamie at Comic-Con before school started." I replied. I pulled a letter out of my backpack and said, "She just sent me some more pictures from then in the mail."

I took out the developed photos from Comic-Con and the other conventions we went to. There were about ten photos, and we had displayed as different anime characters in each.

"What's this one from? I don't recognize it." Hikaru said.

I looked at the photo and snatched it from his hand. "I've been waiting for her to send this one! I cosplayed as Misaki Mei from 'Another'."

"It's kind of creepy."

"Whatever." I said, snatching the picture and putting them back in the envelope. "I'll be back. I'm going to the bathroom."

On my way back, I heard Kurai call after me at the end of the hall. I ignored him and kept walking, but he ran and caught my wrist.

"Wait!" He exclaimed.

"Let go of me!" I yelled, pulling my arm.

"Please, just listen to me!" He begged.

"I said, let go!" I pulled my arm out of his grip, but he hugged me from behind before I could run.

"Please, please, won't you listen to me?"

"Let go!" I scowled, struggling.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I made a mistake, and I want you back."

"Idiot! I did let me go!" I screamed, thrashing against him.

Kyoya appeared around the corner, and everyone else came behind him. It seemed like they ran down the hallway.

I finally broke his grip and took a few steps forward.

"Please... I need another chance. I love you, Josephine-chan."

I turned my gaze from the shocked faces of the Host Club to the floor. I clenched my fists and yelled, "Why the hell should I believe you!? I'm just a damn toy you're stringing along!" Tears dripped from my eyes and it irritated me further.

"I broke up with her... And I found this."

I looked at him, and saw my necklace.

"Idiot... I ran away for you... I cut my hair for you... I gave up my life for you... And now you expect me to forget about it and take you back?"

"I know I messed up. I know I hurt you. Please, let me fix it." He said, holding his hand out to me.

I looked at him and turned around, walking to the Host Club. "Let's go."

We all walked away, and I heard Kurai's voice again.

"I thought you loved me..."

I stopped in my tracks. "I did. But I hate you. The sight of you sickens me. When I remember you I want to puke. I hate you so much, but I can't do a damn thing about it besides cry. I hate that, and it's your fault." I started walking again, and Kyoya put his arm around my shoulder.

"Josephine..."

"That's Suoh-san to you." I snapped. "Goodbye, Atashima-san."

(A/N): This chapter is so short! Gomen'nasai... I've had almost no motivation for this chapter... I'm planning for them to take a vacation next chapter. Ideas and suggestions always appreciated. if you want something to happen in the story, please PM me about it and I might do it. Also, there is a poll on my page! Please take the time to answer it if you haven already. Ja ne!


End file.
